Enjoy Martini moments as 70s party pad for sale
THERE’S a detached house near Merthyr Tydfil that stands out from the crowd, inside and out. Described locally as a “spaceship” or a “James Bond-style” home, when you step inside you are transported to a designer home frozen in the 1970s.
From mirror tiles and glass-brick walls to hand-made carpet and statement pieces of furniture, everything in this retro gem was built for local couple Margaret and James Grainger, a civil engineer, in 1971 by celebrated Welsh architect and designer Ifan Prys Edwards.
At the time, the house and party pad was top of the range, complete with an integrated sound system.
But this incredible house wasn’t always appreciated, or even loved, by the couple’s grandchildren when they were young, who thought it “a bit weird”.
Granddaughter Amy Grainger and her sisters, Michelle Grainger Mead, Nikki Webb and Kate Grainger, were rather embarrassed by their grandparents’ home.
Amy said: “I always remember thinking, ‘what the hell is this?’ It was like walking into a spaceship because none of the rooms were square. When I was younger I was a bit embarrassed by it because I used to think it was not like anybody else’s house, and I was a bit like: ‘Oh my God, this is so weird!’
“People would be saying, ‘What? That’s your nan’s house? What’s it like inside?’ and I’d be thinking ‘oh my God, everything inside is so old!’ But my nan loved it, especially when people would say it looks like something out of James Bond and that it could be used as a film set.
“Researching about the house so much has given me a new-found respect for it. I never recognised it as anything special before, but as an adult looking back now I’m thinking it was amazing – it includes top-ofthe-range everything. It cost about £30,000 [around £380,000 today] when it was built in 1971.”
Amy said: “I can understand now as an adult why my nan was so proud of it then.
“When people made a big fuss of it I thought they were just being polite, but the fact is now I’m older, it’s just nice to think of the kind of glamour, the parties, fancy cars and life that came with it for them – all centred around this house.
“They used to do a lot of grand parties and used to have a maître d’ and all that kind of stuff, and my nan used to do a lot of the catering for the parties and the dos. There’d be different salads made up and gateaux and cakes, all on the best china. She was a proper, original buffet queen.”
Amy said her grandfather always loved gadgets, so there are quite a few features inside the house that were ahead of their time and were designed into the fabric of the building way before the majority of people even knew such gadgets existed.
Amy said: “Where the bar is, they had a sound system behind the bar that was connected to all the speakers throughout the house and then they had intercom in every room. A lot of the stuff in the house is specifically made for the house, like the handmade Italian carpets that are still in place.”
The fact that this house is so well preserved inside is wholly down to Margaret.
Amy said: “My nan was always pretty much thinking about preserving the home, she’s always been a clean freak and a neat freak – everything had its place.”
Anyone with a love of retro who wants to buy and preserve this time capsule will be pleased to know that they can buy the furniture, too.
Amy said: “A lot of the furniture is original to the decade and all the furniture is staying in the house and can be bought separately to the house sale.”
But the unique design of the “weird” house did not stop Amy and her sisters enjoying spending time there.
Amy, a 39-year-old domestic abuse support worker from Aberdare, recalled: “There were some rules in the house, and me and my twin sister used to get into rows because we’d be running up and down the spiral staircase, and my nan would be telling us off. But she’d also let us spin around on the kitchen chairs.
“Memory-wise, my favourite room is always the kitchen; being in the kitchen when my nan was cooking.
“But my favourite thing was my grandfather when he used to let us sit in the living area with him.
“He’d do us a little glass of pop in a little glass cup from the bar and my nan would be saying – ‘give them a beaker, why are you giving them the good cut glasses?’ He was very naughty from what I can remember!”
This is the first time in the property’s history that it has been on the market. It’s a house built specifically for entertaining – that was the brief to the architect – and the result is a home that can be sectioned off or opened up.
“You can close the wall off between the living-room and the bar, and it becomes homely and comfy, or you could open it up, move the sofas and it is then a big party room,” she said.
“It is a very sociable house, Nan at 97 still loves entertaining people, there’s always people going back and fore. I don’t remember any time when I popped in on the off-chance when there wouldn’t be a table full of women sat around, with Nan at the centre entertaining people. Queen Bee, I call her!”
And, as for selling the home, Amy said: “I’ve gone from thinking this house is embarrassing to being really defensive about it. It’s not everybody’s taste and that’s fine – it wasn’t my taste to start with – but now I so wish I could buy it myself.
“There is no other property like it. I would love it to go to somebody who shows it as much love, or even half as much love, as my nan has shown it through the years, someone who is respectful of its architecture and uniqueness.
“We’d hope that they’d respect the beauty and originality of it, that they leave it untouched and respect the special soul of this special house.”
The house is for sale for £550,000 with agency The Modern House. Call 20 3795 5920 to find out more.